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        Overview and feature list for the SimpleTest PHP unit tester and web tester
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<h1>Overview of SimpleTest</h1>
        This page...
        <ul>
<li>
            <a href="#summary">Quick summary</a>
            of the SimpleTest tool for PHP.
        </li>
<li>
            <a href="#features">List of features</a>,
            both current ones and those planned.
        </li>
<li>
            There are plenty of <a href="#resources">unit testing resources</a>
            on the web.
        </li>
</ul>
<div class="content">
        <p>
<a class="target" name="summary">
<h2>What is SimpleTest?</h2>
</a>
</p>
            <p>
                The heart of SimpleTest is a testing framework built around
                test case classes.
                These are written as extensions of base test case classes,
                each extended with methods that actually contain test code.
                Top level test scripts then invoke the <span class="new_code">run()</span>
                methods on every one of these test cases in order.
                Each test method is written to invoke various assertions that
                the developer expects to be true such as
                <span class="new_code">assertEqual()</span>.
                If the expectation is correct, then a successful result is dispatched to the
                observing test reporter, but any failure triggers an alert
                and a description of the mismatch.
            </p>
            <p>
                A <a href="unit_test_documentation.html">test case</a> looks like this...
<pre>
&lt;?php
class <strong>MyTestCase</strong> extends UnitTestCase {
    <strong>
    function testLogWroteMessage() {
        $log = &amp;new Log('my.log');
        $log-&gt;message('Hello');
        $this-&gt;assertTrue(file_exists('my.log'));
    }</strong>
}
?&gt;
</pre>
            </p>
            <p>
                These tools are designed for the developer.
                Tests are written in the PHP language itself more or less
                as the application itself is built.
                The advantage of using PHP itself as the testing language is that
                there are no new languages to learn, testing can start straight away,
                and the developer can test any part of the code.
                Basically, all parts that can be accessed by the application code can also be
                accessed by the test code, if they are in the same programming language.
            </p>
            <p>
                The simplest type of test case is the
                <a href="unit_tester_documentation.html">UnitTestCase</a>.
                This class of test case includes standard tests for equality,
                references and pattern matching.
                All these test the typical expectations of what you would
                expect the result of a function or method to be.
                This is by far the most common type of test in the daily
                routine of development, making up about 95% of test cases.
            </p>
            <p>
                The top level task of a web application though is not to
                produce correct output from its methods and objects, but
                to generate web pages.
                The <a href="web_tester_documentation.html">WebTestCase</a> class tests web
                pages.
                It simulates a web browser requesting a page, complete with
                cookies, proxies, secure connections, authentication, forms, frames and most
                navigation elements.
                With this type of test case, the developer can assert that
                information is present in the page and that forms and
                sessions are handled correctly.
            </p>
            <p>
                A <a href="web_tester_documentation.html">WebTestCase</a> looks like this...
<pre>
&lt;?php
class <strong>MySiteTest</strong> extends WebTestCase {
    <strong>
    function testHomePage() {
        $this-&gt;get('http://www.my-site.com/index.php');
        $this-&gt;assertTitle('My Home Page');
        $this-&gt;clickLink('Contact');
        $this-&gt;assertTitle('Contact me');
        $this-&gt;assertPattern('/Email me at/');
    }</strong>
}
?&gt;
</pre>
            </p>
        
        <p>
<a class="target" name="features">
<h2>Feature list</h2>
</a>
</p>
            <p>
                The following is a very rough outline of past and future features
                and their expected point of release.
                I am afraid it is liable to change without warning as meeting the
                milestones rather depends on time available.
                Green stuff has been coded, but not necessarily released yet.
                If you have a pressing need for a green but unreleased feature
                then you should check-out the code from Sourceforge CVS directly.
                <table>
<thead>
                    <tr>
<th>Feature</th><th>Description</th><th>Release</th>
</tr>
                    </thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
                        <td>Unit test case</td>
                        <td>Core test case class and assertions</td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Html display</td>
                        <td>Simplest possible display</td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Autoloading of test cases</td>
                        <td>
                            Reading a file with test cases and loading them into a
                            group test automatically
                        </td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Mock objects</td>
                        <td>
                            Objects capable of simulating other objects removing
                            test dependencies
                        </td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Web test case</td>
                        <td>Allows link following and title tag matching</td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Partial mocks</td>
                        <td>
                            Mocking parts of a class for testing less than a class
                            or for complex simulations
                        </td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Web cookie handling</td>
                        <td>Correct handling of cookies when fetching pages</td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Following redirects</td>
                        <td>Page fetching automatically follows 300 redirects</td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Form parsing</td>
                        <td>Ability to submit simple forms and read default form values</td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Command line interface</td>
                        <td>Test display without the need of a web browser</td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Exposure of expectation classes</td>
                        <td>Can create precise tests with mocks as well as test cases</td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>XML output and parsing</td>
                        <td>
                            Allows multi host testing and the integration of acceptance
                            testing extensions
                        </td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Browser component</td>
                        <td>
                            Exposure of lower level web browser interface for more
                            detailed test cases
                        </td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>HTTP authentication</td>
                        <td>
                            Fetching protected web pages with basic authentication
                            only
                        </td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>SSL support</td>
                        <td>Can connect to https: pages</td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Proxy support</td>
                        <td>Can connect via. common proxies</td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Frames support</td>
                        <td>Handling of frames in web test cases</td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>File upload testing</td>
                        <td>Can simulate the input type file tag</td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0.1</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Mocking interfaces</td>
                        <td>
                            Can generate mock objects to interfaces as well as classes
                            and class interfaces are carried for type hints
                        </td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0.1</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Testing exceptions</td>
                        <td>Similar to testing PHP errors</td>
                        <td style="color: green;">1.0.1</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>HTML label support</td>
                        <td>Can access all controls using the visual label</td>
                        <td style="color: red;">1.0.1</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Code coverage</td>
                        <td>Reports using the bundled SpikeSource coverage tool</td>
                        <td style="color: red;">1.0.1</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Reporting machinery enhancements</td>
                        <td>Improved message passing for better cooperation with IDEs</td>
                        <td style="color: red;">1.1</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Localisation</td>
                        <td>Messages abstracted and code generated from XML</td>
                        <td style="color: red;">1.1</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>IFrame support</td>
                        <td>Reads IFrame content that can be refreshed</td>
                        <td style="color: red;">1.1</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Improved mock interface</td>
                        <td>More compact way of expressing mocks using fluent interfaces</td>
                        <td style="color: red;">2.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Assertion packs</td>
                        <td>Can dynamically add assertions to test cases</td>
                        <td style="color: red;">2.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>HTML table assertions</td>
                        <td>Can match table elements to numerical assertions</td>
                        <td style="color: red;">2.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>XPath searching of HTML elements</td>
                        <td>More flexible content matching</td>
                        <td style="color: red;">2.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Alternate HTML parsers</td>
                        <td>Can detect compiled parsers for performance improvements</td>
                        <td style="color: red;">2.0</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                        <td>Javascript suport</td>
                        <td>Use of PECL module to add Javascript</td>
                        <td style="color: red;">3.0</td>
                    </tr>
                </tbody>
</table>
                PHP5 migraton will start straight after the version 1.0.1 series,
                whereupon only PHP 5.1+ will be supported.
                SimpleTest is currently compatible with PHP 5, but will not
                make use of all of the new features until version 2.
            </p>
        
        <p>
<a class="target" name="resources">
<h2>Web resources for testing</h2>
</a>
</p>
            <p>
                Process is at least as important as tools.
                The type of process that makes the heaviest use of a developer's
                testing tool is of course
                <a href="http://www.extremeprogramming.org/">Extreme Programming</a>.
                This is one of the
                <a href="http://www.agilealliance.com/articles/index">Agile Methodologies</a>
                which combine various practices to "flatten the cost curve" of software development.
                More extreme still is <a href="http://www.testdriven.com/modules/news/">Test Driven Development</a>,
                where you very strictly adhere to the rule of no coding until you have a test.
                If you're more of a planner, or believe that experience trumps evolution,
                you may prefer the
                <a href="http://www.therationaledge.com/content/dec_01/f_spiritOfTheRUP_pk.html">RUP</a> approach.
                I haven't tried it, but even I can see that you will need test tools (see figure 9).
            </p>
            <p>
                Most unit testers clone <a href="http://www.junit.org/">JUnit</a> to some degree,
                as far as the interface at least. There is a wealth of information on the
                JUnit site including the
                <a href="http://junit.sourceforge.net/doc/faq/faq.htm">FAQ</a>
                which contains plenty of general advice on testing.
                Once you get bitten by the bug you will certainly appreciate the phrase
                <a href="http://junit.sourceforge.net/doc/testinfected/testing.htm">test infected</a>
                coined by Eric Gamma.
                If you are still reviewing which unit tester to use the main choices
                are <a href="http://phpunit.sourceforge.net/">PHPUnit</a>
                and <a href="http://pear.php.net/manual/en/package.php.phpunit.php">Pear PHP::PHPUnit</a>.
                They currently lack a lot of features found in
                <a href="http://www.lastcraft.com/simple_test.php">SimpleTest</a>, but the PEAR
                version at least has been upgraded for PHP5 and is recommended if you are porting
                existing <a href="http://www.junit.org/">JUnit</a> test cases.
            </p>
            <p>
                There is currently a sad lack of material on mock objects, which is a shame
                as unit testing without them is a lot more work.
                The <a href="http://www.sidewize.com/company/mockobjects.pdf">original mock objects paper</a>
                is very Java focused, but still worth a read.
                As a new technology there are plenty of discussions and debate on how to use mocks,
                often on Wikis such as
                <a href="http://xpdeveloper.com/cgi-bin/oldwiki.cgi?MockObjects">Extreme Tuesday</a>
                or <a href="http://www.mockobjects.com/MocksObjectsPaper.html">www.mockobjects.com</a>
                or <a href="http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?MockObject">the original C2 Wiki</a>.
                Injecting mocks into a class is the main area of debate for which this
                <a href="http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/java/library/j-mocktest.html">paper on IBM</a>
                makes a good starting point.
            </p>
            <p>
                There are plenty of web testing tools, but the scriptable ones
                are mostly are written in Java and
                tutorials and advice are rather thin on the ground.
                The only hope is to look at the documentation for
                <a href="http://httpunit.sourceforge.net/">HTTPUnit</a>,
                <a href="http://htmlunit.sourceforge.net/">HTMLUnit</a>
                or <a href="http://jwebunit.sourceforge.net/">JWebUnit</a> and hope for clues.
                There are some XML driven test frameworks, but again most
                require Java to run.
            </p>
            <p>
                A new generation of tools that run directly in the web browser
                are now available.
                These include
                <a href="http://www.openqa.org/selenium/">Selenium</a> and
                <a href="http://wtr.rubyforge.org/">Watir</a>.
                As SimpleTest does not support JavaScript you would probably
                have to look at these tools anyway if you have highly dynamic
                pages.
            </p>
        
    </div>
        References and related information...
        <ul>
<li>
            <a href="unit_test_documentation.html">Documentation for SimpleTest</a>.
        </li>
<li>
            <a href="http://www.lastcraft.com/first_test_tutorial.php">How to write PHP test cases</a>
            is a fairly advanced tutorial.
        </li>
<li>
            <a href="http://simpletest.sourceforge.net/">SimpleTest API</a> from phpdoc.
        </li>
</ul>
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